The 2nd round of the Metzeler British Enduro Championship took place at Lossiemouth this weekend in a return to wintery conditions. Championship leader Tom Sagar was still recovering from the heavy fall that put him out of last weekend WEC round in Sweden & in such a closely contested competition Paul Edmondson was primed to take the first day. Tom was the runner up. Daryl Bolter was 3rd & Greg Evans was 4th. Greg won the first test of the day but lost time on the last test when he crashed & he got sand blocking his fuel pipe. Greg won the first test on the second day but his chain snapped & he dropped 20 minutes to end a weekend of cruel weather & cruel fortune. Tom won day 2 from Paul with Simon Wakely taking 3rd.
Pics on club gallery can be found here.
Bill McGregors gallery can be found here with lots of great pics from Saturday and Sunday. Thanks for the links Bill.
Grampian MCC Hosts Round 2 of the Metzeler British Enduro Championship.
22-23/03/2008
Snow - Sand and Mud - Lossie 08 had it all. With sandy going in Lossiemouth Forest followed by a monster test at Woodside MX track then the cold ride to finish off with the mud of Monaughty Forest. The weather mostly held up - snow flurries and a cutting wind. A tough one.
Ollie Moyce from Sidcup pictured below. Pic: Angus Donald
Team Press Releases so far.
DEC's Lossiemouth BEC 2008
The 2nd round of the British Enduro Championship 2008 took place at Lossiemouth last weekend amidst wintry conditions with ice cold strong winds, some snow and hailstone showers and even sunshine as well as a tough cross country and MX Test for the competitors to contend with.
DEC’s Corporate Hospitality kick started the action when hot food and refreshments began warming up the some 300 clients, spectators, friends and even some of the riders that took part in the exciting two day event.
Richard Hay, DEC’s MD came 4th in the Championship class, winning the E1 2 Stroke category in the process. Meanwhile DEC’s Products Manager, Derek Little (pictured left), was delighted in winning the Expert Class overall, again by winning the E1 2 Stroke class. Both riders had no technical issues over the gruelling two day event, however Euan McConnell (Pictured below), a Project Engineer with DEC, lost valuable time when he damaged his chain guide on a rogue tree stump. Eventually fixing it, Euan was extremely frustrated as this put him out of the running for the Championship Class. A self-confessed "schoolboy" error on Sunday also put paid to his hopes, as Euan clocked into a check 2 minutes early.
Richard (Picture left) now leads the E1 2 Stroke Championship class heading into Round 3 in August, with Derek leading the E1 2 Stroke Expert class.Unfortunately the final MX was cancelled as riders decided to head home and brave the wintery conditions on four wheels rather than two. However, Richard and Derek showed their thanks to the many spectators who stayed until the bitter end by putting on a high speed display round the Woodside MX circuit, much to the delight of the assembled cold crowd.
As a significant sponsor of the Grampian BEC, DEC would like to thank all the club organisers, marshals, timekeepers and check crews who stood out in the snow, making the event possible. Without the permission of the various landowners, Forestry Commission, Grampian Police, Grampian Fire and Rescue and First Aid Services, the event would not go ahead, so DEC pass on their grateful thanks to all those involved and hope to see everyone at the next Grampian BEC.
British Enduro Championship Victory for Relentless Suzuki Enduro's Paul Edmondson
The second round of the British Enduro Championship took place at Lossiemouth over the weekend and proved to be a very successful outing for the Relentless Suzuki Enduro Team.
Paul Edmondson (Pictured left) from Diss in Norfolk piloted his brand new fuel injected Suzuki RMZ450 to victory on both days in the E2 class and a first and second place in the overall standings, putting Edmondson back into the title chase.
With just a few days to prepare the new bike for the event, Fast Eddy was over the moon with the result. After preparing the machine with a lighting kit and softer springs the 450 never missed a beat. Edmondson hadn't ridden such a large capacity bike for many years but took to it immediately as the results show.
Following a disappointing opening round of the BEC, Edmondson is right back on course in the series and looks set to go from strength to strength on the new bike.
Paul Edmondson: 'I'm really pleased with the result this weekend. The bike was fantastic. Initially it was a culture shock going back to a big bike after so many years but the handling was spot on and the new fuel injection system really supplied the power when needed. I'm very impressed; I think that fuel injection is the way ahead after this performance.
The result has put me back in the running for the BEC, I feel I've got a good shout at putting in a string of good performances, especially with the Relentless Suzuki RMZ450 under me.'
Optoma Mortgages D3-Racing KTM release
We` looked forward to the 2nd round of the BEC with mixed thoughts, championship leader Tom Sagar (pictured left) was recovering from a injury sustained from the previous `week in Sweden and was not able to train or ride the bike at all prior to the event, how would he perform, could he even start and finish, were some of our questions.
However Greg Evans from Hafren in Wales was firing on all cylinders, after a good start at Rd 1 of the BEC and some very positive mid week testing, we had further improved the setup of his KTM 250 EXC, we were optimistic that the sandy motocross style tests of Scotland would suit his style. Strong ice cold winds with some Snow and Hailstones made the event feel colder than Sweden but the riders would soon be warmed up on the tough circuit in the North of Scotland. Two laps of a 65 mile course which included 9 time controls, 1 Motocross test of around 10 minutes and 1 cross-country test of just over 5 minutes per lap.
Tom Sagar above Pic: Lee Leightwood
The weekend started in the best possible way, Greg (Pictured left) from Hafren in Wales won the first cross-country test from Euan McConnell with Tom less than 1 second behind, at the first fuel check Tom confirmed that all was ok and he wasn’t troubled by his injury.The weekend started in the best possible way, Greg won the first cross-country test from Euan McConnell with Tom less than 1 second behind, at the first fuel check Tom confirmed that all was ok and he wasn’t troubled by his injury. Next into the MX test and Tom went to the top of the leaderboard with fastest time, followed closely by Daryl Bolter also from Wales and Greg.
Greg Evans Above Pic: Gregor Hamilton
Despite some tight check times the course did not trouble the class leaders with the exception of McConnell who damaged his chain guide and took a time penalty. Tom set fastest time on the next cross country, but disaster for Greg when he crashed and lost over 30 seconds with some machine damage. Paul Edmondson was now starting to get familiar with his new 450 Suzuki and started to post some quick times, Tom had a good lead of more than 15 seconds but he stalled on the final MX test and Eddy set a blistering time which would be the fastest for the weekend and with Tom’s small mistake Eddy took the days win by just over 2 seconds. Greg managed to recover to 4th overall with a quick final MX time.
Daryl Bolter above Pic: Angus Donald
Day 2 started as per day one Greg won the first test closely followed by Tom, however bad luck again on the MX test for Greg, his chain snapped and he lost more than 20 minutes repairing the chain, he finished but this problem cost him a possible podium position. Tom continued on top form winning the MX test and just needed to cruise around the cross-country test to turn the tables on Fast Eddy and take the day win. Now both Greg and Tom travel to Portugal for round 2 of the WEC this weekend.
Front Row GB
Mail; mail@frontrowgb.com Web; www.frontrowgb.com
Dear Grampian MCC,
This is just a quick note to pass onto all those who worked on and helped out at the 2nd Round of the BEC round in Lossiemouth. I am fortunate enough to race enduro in the
This is by far the best BEC round in the UK and I hope you are all able to have something together again for next year, as it is a British Championship so should be spread across the UK as a whole. I know the weather wasn’t great but this did not hamper the enjoyment of riding the Lossie and Monaughty areas.
Thanks again for such a great event and I think the motocross idea as part of the points scoring is an excellent addition for both riders and spectators and gets my full support as a rider.
Obviously, the weather didn’t lend itself to people being able to have a look around our
Best regards, Stan watt.
ROUND 2 – ACU BRITISH ENDURO CHAMPIONSHIP with Team Frontrow GB Press release.
Round 2 of the Metzeler sponsored, ACU British Enduro Championship took place throughout last weekend in Scotland, with the Grampian Motorcycle Club again using the areas near to Elgin, to include; Lossiemouth Forest, Woodside MX arena and Monaughty Forest. With the weather forecast suggesting wintery conditions of rain, snow, strong winds and freezing temperatures, it was hoped the course and terrain would make up for the proposed weather conditions. Stan Watt would be the sole rider from Front Row GB as Jon Stamper was restricted by other commitments and Stan would travel with Paul and Derrick Edmondson plus Danny Hall from Rogershill Raceway in Dorset, Rob Sartin from Talon Engineering and Bradley King. The group left southern England on the Wednesday to carry out testing on Thursday in Tain with Scott Gardner in order to develop suspension for the coming BEC, prior to heading over to Elgin for the main event over the weekend.
THE COURSE:
The course would incorporate starting at a disused airfield approximately 3 miles outside Elgin and a short ride to Lossiemouth Forest, where there was an interesting stage through the forest to the cross country test. The special test would run along the fringes of the forest, onto deep sand and eventually onto the beach before heading back into the trees to end the special test.
With another lengthy stage after the special in the forest area, a rider would return to the entrance of Lossiemouth Forest before riding back to the start to refuel and set out along a short road section to the MX test that would be a mixture of the Woodside MX circuit and surrounding area, making for a lengthy special test that most riders were looking forward to, although large amounts of time could be lost or made through this section.
After the MX test, a 15 minute road section would take you to Monaughty Forest for fuel and a stage that would resemble the terrain you would find in a typical Welsh forest of rocks, roots and bogs, just of a smaller scale. Once Monaughty Forest was completed there was an opportunity to take on more fuel and return to the start point to kick-off lap two.
A complete lap would cover 65 miles and proved to be demanding and physical for all riders.
For lap two, the stage times would be drastically reduced with a limited number of riders being able to stay clear throughout. Any riders staying on time on the tighter stages would finish with a good result over the weekend.
THE WEATHER:
Much was made of the potential forecast for the weekend and thankfully this never came to fruition and it has to be said a certain amount of luck stayed with the event. Yes, there was rain, snow, wind, bouts of hail, freezing conditions and even sunshine. This cycled through the area every 10 minutes making for a variety of conditions but luckily did not affect the riders too much or the riding environment.
THE EVENT:
DAY 1: Arriving at the start of the first off-road stage, a number of riders misjudged the route and the entrants were split between riding the proper route, which was fairly tight and those who followed different markers making for a route approximately 5 minutes shorter. Stan arrived well on time and prepared for the first cross country special test with Rob Sartin on hand for any needed assistance. The test went well with Stan concentrating on a smooth fairly quick test to start the day. This was followed by a long stage in Lossiemouth Forest and again Stan cleared the check in plenty of time. After refueling, he moved onto the MX test and set a reasonable time prior to heading to Monaughty Forest where again the check was made in plenty of time.
Lap 2: would be very different, with the first off-road stage being cut by 7 minutes and the 2nd check after the special test being cut by 10 minutes. All riders were aware these times would be extremely tight to make and would be physically demanding with a tight check, followed by a special test, followed by a tight check prior to a short road section before the MX test. Pushing hard, Stan crashed on the first tight check and in total lost 1 minute. With little time to recover, Stan went straight into the special test crashing again, this time on the first corner. Handling difficulties were being accentuated as the course started to get whooped-up and on the next tight check in Lossiemouth Forest, Stan lost a further 2 minutes. After refueling, Stan set a good time in the MX test, an amazing 29 seconds quicker than his first attempt and 2nd quickest in class. A road section to Monaughty Forest and another tight check, which Stan pushed hard to stay clear and arrive bang on his minute.
DAY 2: With the weather changeable and lower temperatures, the day would be reduced from 1 ˝ laps to 1 with tight checks all round. Gordon MacDonald made some inspiring suspension changes to Stan’s 300KTM, with immediate effect. The first tight check was made easily with 7 minutes to spare, cutting his time the day previously by 3 minutes. The more supple suspension made for difficult going on the soft sand of the cross country test and Stan crashed twice, ruining any chance of a good time. The next tight check was to be difficult with Stan pushing hard and crashing several times losing a total of 3 minutes. With the standard refuel, Stan made his way to the MX test and set a personal best time, even though he crashed on the third corner in deep sand. Monaughty Forest was set as a tight check and again Stan pushed hard knowing this was the final stage of the event and wanting to stay clear. The course was cutting up, but the suspension changes worked well on the exposed rocks and tree roots allowing Stan to arrive at the end of the final off-road stage with 7 minutes in-hand and 3 minutes quicker on the same stage the day previous.
7th and 2nd in Scotland for Bradley King
The second round of the BEC was last weekend in snowy Scotland. The lap was 65 mile lap with 2 awesome special tests making probably the best event i have rode.
Day 1 started ok with the enduro test but 2 crashes in the sand querry of the mx test - the second of which saw me facing the wrong way struggling to start the bike -.left me playin catch up. luckily there was a tight check which most lost time on but i stayed clean which moved me to 7th expert and 2nd in the E2 class
Day 2 went a lot smoother with just one lap and no crashing!! I finished 2nd expert - behind day 1 winner Derek Little - and 1st E2 rider.
The next round is in August and I have lots of events before then to help me up my game. I'd like to thank my sponsors - GAS GAS UK, TALON, KRIEGA, K4OFFROAD, SCEC. STEVE PLAIN SUSPENSION AND RUSH RACING. Id also like to thank everyone who helped me during the weekend expesially Rob Sartin. Also the Padgett family, Danny Hall, Stan Watt, the Edmondsons and especially my family!!!
Brad king - enduro and hare scrambles on K4OFFROAD GAS GAS EC250 - www.freewebs.com/bradking25
After more than a year of planning and a lot of seriously hard work Grampian Motor Cycle Clubs round of the Metzler British Enduro Championship finally took place over the Easter weekend. The course was nothing if not ambitious and attracted a field of around 250 riders. The weather forecast in the run up to the event was not good and during Friday scrutineering officials, entrants and support crews were subjected to sleet and painful hailstones.
Starting at Milton airfield the riders took a right on a short road section and entered Lossie forest. Lossie is a small relatively flat forest that on first impressions would appear to be relative easy. There are few riders that having ridden a full enduro in Lossie would use the term easy and Lossie forest in the same sentence. The course is a non stop series of roots, stumps & whoops that take every bit of a riders concentration and stamina. At no time in the 21 mile loop is there any respite, no fire roads, no flat fields, nowhere at all to sit back and recover slightly. Then there is the power and energy sapping dunes to really test a riders skill and resolve. By the time the riders leave Lossie and the first test of the day and head back to Milton for fuel there are few that have any doubt that this will be anything other than a tough day.
After the effort of riding the forest the cold conditions on the roads between the venues are another factor to test the riders. With temperatures only a few degrees above freezing and a wind chill that makes it feel much colder as well as frequent snow and hail showers, going from seriously hot in the forests and tests to very cold on the road sections is not easy. It is a British Championship Enduro and no-one expects it to be easy and no-one complains.
We are manning the exit check at Woodside that is only a few yards from the entrance check. The first championship class rider is expected at a little after 10.30. A few minutes after 10am, the in check gets its first business of the day in the form of a clubman rider on a Husky 125. We are all more than a little confused, are we looking at the next Knighter? Here is a guy that has apparently started over an hour later than the first championship riders, completed Lossie, refueled and got to us in around 10 minutes in total! It soon became apparent that on leaving the start he had turned left instead of right and missed out Lossie altogether. He about turned and made his way to Lossie but he must have lost at least 20 minutes.
Soon enough the championship guys arrive and make their way to the moto cross track and the start of the Woodside Special Test. The test is long by any standards and has a bit of everything. A muddy start on the track then into some tight turns in the trees with loads of exposed roots then back onto the track briefly before another deviation up into the woods across some really slippy rocks. A couple of heavily rutted turns then down towards the bottom of the track again and a short steep uphill then around the back to the steep up and down sections before heading along the side of the sand quarry and on to some small whoops. The sand quarry isn't normally available to ride but has been kindly opened up specifically for the event and beautifully carved out with cracking ramps, jumps and a spectacular table top. All of it demands a flat out riding style and many riders struggle as they would have on the dunes at Lossie. Out of the quarry and onto the furthest out point of the test overlooking the A96 and Elgin most of which is oblivious to the fact that a British Championship motorsport event with some world class riders competing is taking place right on their doorstep.
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A fairly long cold road section then the challenge of Monaughty Forest. Normally the venue for GMCC's 2nd Scottish round in August it would appear that while very rideable it was a real slog for some riders. A complete contrast to Lossie with some very fast sections but still with stumps, roots and a few bogs. Refueling stops at both the start and finish of Monaughty ensured support crews also had their work cut out.
The top classes did 2 complete laps on day 1 and 1 complete lap plus Lossie forest again.
A very complicated and ambitious venture that as far as I could see went down very well with all the riders and is a great credit to the people from GMCC and the other Scottish clubs that provided invaluable help on the day. All the helpers were invaluable and the people guarding the entrance to Woodside (you know who you are) deserve special mention as without your diligence in spite of all manner of excuses from the support crews you managed to keep Woodside free of vehicles and ensured the section ran smoothly.
Many thanks also to the riders who made the effort to come to our event and provided us at times with spectacular riding and at all times with great courtesy at our check. Hopefully you'll all be back to do it again!!
